Rey Williams, who dished out his share of hard hits during his football career, is in the process of absorbing one.

The 33-year-old import linebacker has decided to retire from the game after 10 seasons in the pro ranks. The move was announced Monday by the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders, for whom Williams played four seasons.

"Like any football player - regardless if you've played five years, 10 years, 20 years - you never are ready to quit," Williams said during a media conference at Mosaic Stadium. "You always think that you could keep playing. But truth is, it comes to an end for all of us.

"You can't play football forever. That's just the reality of the situation. I'm just blessed and lucky enough to be able to stay in football."

The new retiree immediately became the Roughriders' director of player development.

He'll be tasked with helping new players coming into the league - particularly American-born players - get adjusted to the CFL and to the community. Williams also will provide guidance to players about life after football in terms of finances and future plans.

"It's something I've already done," Williams said. "I've already felt like I was a mentor to the younger guys and talking to guys and guys could always come to me.

"It's kind of a natural fit, me transitioning myself from a football player to player development."

Williams joined the Roughriders in 2007 and spent three seasons with them. On Monday, the Hofstra University product said coming to the CFL was "the best decision I ever made."

After spending the 2010 season with the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers, Williams returned to the CFL in 2011 with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. After two seasons there, he returned to Saskatchewan as a free agent in February of 2013.

He played the first 10 regular-season games in 2013 before suffering a seasonending knee injury Sept. 8 in Winnipeg.

On Monday, Williams said the knee was responding, but he didn't think he would have been ready for the start of the 2014 regular season. With that in mind, offseason conversations with Roughriders head coach

Corey Chamblin and general manager Brendan Taman about the front-office job convinced him to retire.

"It was just the right time ...," said Williams, who wanted to remain in the province.

"A lot of people wish they could be in my shoes right now. When you finish with football, a lot of times you just leave and you don't have this kind of opportunity to stay in it. I have an opportunity to stay in it and I didn't want to pass it up."

Chamblin noted that he handled the job when he was an assistant coach with the Calgary Stampeders and wanted to create a similar position after becoming the Roughriders' head coach.

He and Taman discussed candidates but didn't feel they had the right one - until Williams' name came up.

"At a certain point, the good thing about playing football is you play, you become a star and you get a platform," Chamblin said. "I just thought it was time for Rey to take that next step with his platform and give back to the younger guys in a bigger way than just on first or second down."

Williams' departure could open a hole in the Roughriders' defence, especially with Mike McCullough's future plans unknown.

McCullough, who replaced the injured Williams last season, apparently is still trying to decide whether to return for his 12th season with the Roughriders or retire. If he chooses the latter, Saskatchewan won't have a proven middle linebacker.

"(The position) is open right now until (Mc-Cullough) actually makes a decision ...," Chamblin said. "When we look across the roster, we have to have guys in place already anyway. Once (McCullough) makes his decision, we'll be ready to move on if Mike's back or if he's not back."

Williams is expected to help coach the linebackers when he's not advising players about their futures. That could help him adjust to no longer being a player.

Asked how he hoped to be remembered by Roughriders fans, Williams said: "I gave it my all. I never took a play off. Every time I was out there, I hope they saw in my play that I was trying to win."

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.